Department of the interior



(No Model.)

H. M. GEIGER.

POLL BOOK AND TALLY SHEET. No. 434,825. Patented Aug. 19, 1890.

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UNITED STATE HARRY M. GEIGER,

OF SPRINGFIELD, OHIO, ASSIGNOR OF ONE-HALF TO JOHN M. OASSIL, OF SAME PLACE.

POLL-BOOK AND TALLY-SHEET.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 434,825, dated August 19, 1890. Application filed September 2, 1889- Serial No. 322,696. (No specimens.)

To all whom it may concern.-

Be it known that I, HARRY M. GEIGER, a citizen of the United States, residing at Springfield, in the county of Clark and State of Ohio, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Poll-Books and Tally-Sheets, of which the following is a specification, reference being had therein to the accompanying drawings.

My invention relates to certain new and useful improvements in books for recording the results of popular elections; and it consists, essentially, of a number of pages suitably ruled and printed and permanently bound or securedjo a cover, so as to be freely opened and turned in a similar manner to the leaves in a pamphlet or a book, while alarge or blanket sheet of about the same depth of page as the leaves aforesaid is folded in creases, so as to form pages of about the same width as said leaves, said pages of the blanketsheet being also suitably ruled and printed to be used with the permanent leaves aforesaid. This large or blanket sheet is temporarily secured to the same cover as the permanent leaves and at a suitable distance therefrom, whereby the pages of the large sheet may match and be conveniently used with said leaves while the tally-sheetis being filled out, and afterward the said pages may be readily freed from the temporary binding and spread out in one large blanketsheet, thus exposing to view for examination and copying, or either, without further turning of pages, the complete tabulated number of votes received by the several candidates.

In the accompanying drawings, forming a part of this specification, and in which like reference-lettersindicatecorrespondingparts, Figure 1 represents a perspective View of said election record-book having the leaves partly open and showing the pages of the blanketsheet held by the preferred form of temporary binding; Fig. 2, a perspective view of the said book closed; Fig. 3, a detail view of the preferred form of temporary binding when used with a blanket-sheet having two double pages; Fig. 4, a'perspective view of the same, indicating its shape as applied to the blanketsheet and the cover; Fig. 5, a modification of Fig. 3, showing tongues that are secured to the folded leaves when more than two double pages are required; Fig. 6, a partial section of the cover near a form of temporary binding, a stem attached to the cover, and a clip removably mounted thereon, also a plan view of the same; Fig. 7, an end view of Fig. 6, showing the manner the clip engages the blanket-sheet and a part of the permanent leaves; Fig.- 8, a modification of Fig. 6, showing a clip having one prong; also an end View of the same, showing its position in regard to a fold of the blanket-sheet; Fig. 9, a perspective view of a portion of a blanket-sheet having two double pages ruled in ofifice, candidate, and summary columns, a fragile connection at the folds of said sheet, a portion of the tally-sheet lapping over the summary-column of the blanket-sheet and a part of the pollbook; and Fig. 10 an end view of a portion of the blanket-sheet and a part of the cover adjacent, showing the manner the tongues and legs on the fragile connection engage with the folded leaves of the summary-sheet and cover, respectively.

The letter A designates the cover of an election record-book consisting of a poll-book and a tally-sheet, and having a number of creases, so that it may be readily folded into a convenient size and protect the inclosed pages. At one of these creases B is permanently bound or secured a number of leaves forming the boll-book and tally-sheet C and O, suitably ruled and printed, while at another crease D, a suitable distance from B, is temporarily secured,in a manner presently to appear, a large or blanket sheet C", so folded at D, Figs. 1 and 9, as to present pages of about the same size as the permanent leaves, and ruled and divided into office, candidate, and summary colums, so as to be conveniently used therewith. One edge of the blanket-sheet is attached to the permanent leaves at the line B, Fig. 9, so as to conform to a law in one State in regard to the said sheet being in one piece with the tally-sheet. If desired, however, this attachment may be dispensed with, and the blanket-sheet may be used unattached to said permanent leaves. The blanket-sheet and its folds are held in their normal position by means of a temporary binding, now to be described. When the said sheet is folded so as to present two double pages, as shown in Fig. 9, the preferred form of temporary binding, as shown in detail in Figs. 3 and 4., is used at or near each end of the said folds, and consists of a strip E, secured to the sheet at each side of the folds, so as to hold the sheet in a folded position, as shown in Figs. 1 and 9, and of the legs F, that are secured to the cover, as indicated in Figs. 1 and 2.

In Fig. 5 is shown a modification of Fig. 3, having tongues G, that extend between the folds D, and are secured to the sheet at each side of the folds, respectively, whereby the folded portions of the sheet may be turned and opened, as previously suggested.

Another form of temporary binding is shown in Fig. 6, which consists of stems H, secured to the cover near the crease B, and having enlargements at or near the ends of said stems, on which stems are mounted clips J, composed of eyes and prongs extending practically parallel to the crease and slightly open, so as to press the folded portions of the sheet closely together, as shown in Fig. 7.

A modified form of clip K is shown in Fig. 8, composed of an eye and a single fingerlike prong that engages a fold, as shown in the end view of Fig. 8. If desired,when there are two or more clips on each stem, the prongs in both forms may be at diiferent distances from the stem, as indicated at K K, Fig. 8, in order to prevent interference when the folds are closed. It is my intention that the prongs of the clips should preserve a practically parallel direction to the crease B, yet be so mounted on their respective stems as readily to turn and be removed therefrom, while the projection of each stem beyond the cover is comparatively slight, as shown in Figs. 6 and 8.

A temporary binding is placed a suitable distance away from the permanent binding, as from B to D, so that, among other reasons, the edges of the leaves 0 will not interfere with the clips aforesaid, gsee Fig. 7,) and also that the leaves C and C may be used conveniently together, as previously mentioned.

It will now be readily understood that the temporary binding will preserve the proper relation between the said leaves 0 C" while the votes are being tabulated, and afterward the blanket-sheet may be freed by severing the fragile connection by disengaging the clip or otherwise according to the temporary form of binding used, whereby a complete view of the returns may be had and the results ontered on the abstract-books without any further turning of the said leaves, thus lessening the chances of mistake by false entries and greatly facilitating the work, the blanketsheet when spread flat being preferably about the size of said abstract-book opened. It will also be observed that since the blanketsheet contains the summary of the votes received by the several candidates for the re spective oflices it is only necessary that the judges and clerks sign once for all the candi- 7o dates, as in the column L, for instance, when certifying to the correctness of the number of votes received by theseveral candidates.

While I have illustrated and described a temporary binding applied to the summary sheet of a poll-book and tally-sheet, I do not wish to limit myself to a sheet for election purposes, for such a binding and a folded sheet are also'applicable to other books-such as time-books for manufacturers-so that in the claims and elsewhere in this specification the words poll-book and tally-sheet are to be understood in accordance with the above explanation.

Having thus fully described my invention, what I claim as new, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is

1. In an election record-book, the combina tion, with a suitable cover and permanent leaves, of a sheet so folded in vertical creases as to bring the distant points of said sheet into convenient proximity, and fragile connections to hold one or more of said folds down to the face of said sheet until said connection is separated and the folded portion exposed.

2. In an election record-book, the combination, with a number of permanent leaves suitably ruled and printed to form a pollbook and a suitable cover, of a large folded sheet divided into oifice, candidate, and summary columns, all ruled by the same horizontal lines, so as to match any part of said lines when folded vertically, and cross-ruled for tallying, and provided with certificate blanks and permanently secured at its center to said poll-book and cover, and fragile connections to hold the sheet temporarily in afolded condition, substantially as shown and described.

3. In an election record-book, a sheet secured at its middle and divided into office, candidate, summary, and total columns, eertificate blanks, and a suitable ruled surface for tallying, substantially as described, said sheet being adapted to be folded in vertical creases parallel with said columns, and a fragile connection to hold the sheet in a folded condition at one or more of said creases, and thus to hide the surface within said fold until the fragile connection is separated.

4. In an election record-book, the combination, with a back or cover having two folding lines dividing the cover into nearly equal parts, and a number of poll-book sheets secured adjacent to one of said folding lines, of a sheet secured by the middle thereof to or near the same folding line of the cover, and divided into oflice, candidate, summary columns, and certificate blanks, and also ruled for tallying, substantially as described, and having a folding crease at each side of the middle, and a fragile connection for holding the candidate-column near to and matching with the tallying-lines.

5. The combination, with a cover and an more record-sheets to be used together, of a election record-sheet suitably ruled and se fragile connection temporarily securing said cured at its center line, thus forminga double folds till said hidden columns are to be filled page, and having summary and certificate out, and thus complete the double page. I 5 columns located on one side of the center line In testimony whereof Iaifix my signature in and folded down the middle and at the outer presence of two Witnesses. side thereof, so that the page presents a continuous fiat surface in either its folded or un- I HARRY GEIGER' folded condition, corresponding folds on the Witnesses: 1o opposite side of the center line, but in the op- H. M. PLAISTED, posite direction to the former to adapt two or TARREN I-IULL.

DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR,

U ITED STATES PATENT OFFICE,

WASHINGTON, D. 0., March 17, 1891.

Whereas the attorney for the party in interest has, in writing, refused to receive Letters Patent No. 434,825, granted August 19, 1890, upon the application of Harry M. Geiger, of Springfield, Ohio, for an improvement in Poll Books and Tally Sheets, for the reason that the claims incorporated therein are not those intended to be allowed in the ease, and

Whereas an examination shows that said Letters Patent were not issued in accord- I ance with the official record of the case in the Patent Office,

It is hereby ordered that the seal of said Letters Patent'be broken, the grant returned to the file marked canceled, and that Letters Patent in proper form be issued pursuant to the record of the case in the Patent Office.

O. E. MITCHELL,

Approved:

CYRUS BUSSEY,

Assistant Secretary of the Interior.

Commissioner. 

